Last Week In The Valley

LAST WEEK IN THE VALLEY

April 24, 1994|The Morning Call

Some of the week's top news stories:

* ALLENTOWN, LEHIGH COUNTY

* Hess's seeks investors: The Hess's Department Store chain is up for sale to investors, officials said. Chairman Robert O'Connell said Hess's is on the road back to profitability and the cash generated by the sale would speed that recovery along.

* Three men shot at Acorn: Three patrons of the Acorn Hotel, a South Allentown nightclub, were shot in a corridor of the club. Allentown Police Chief John Stefanik said he had "no idea" why the men were shot.

* State hospital to release 30: Allentown State Hospital in August will begin discharging 30 patients and moving them into the community under a new program designed to reduce Pennsylvania's state hospital system. As part of the program, the 445-bed institution plans to close its Hillcrest building and reduce its staff by 30 to 40 employees by the end of the year.

* PP&L can increase power: Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. has won Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval to increase power output 5 percent at its Susquehanna nuclear power plant. The $45 million project will increase the Unit 2 boiling-water reactor output by 50,000 kilowatts, according to PP&L officials.

* Apaches seek fuel deal: Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. and PECO Energy Co. have joined 31 utilities in considering a New Mexico Indian reservation as a temporary resting place for spent nuclear fuel. The site in the 460,000-acre Mescalero Apache Reservation in New Mexico would store the waste until the federal government opens a permanent storage site for spent fuel from the nation's 112 commercial nuclear reactors.

* EASTON AREA

* Policeman charged with arson: Wilson's crime prevention officer was charged with setting two fires while patroling on the midnight shift, and is a suspect in about 17 similar area blazes, according to police. Timothy Franklin Sullivan Jr., 26, a full-time officer since the fall of 1989, is charged with setting a fire on April 12 that destroyed a barn in Palmer Township, and with another on Aug. 27, 1993, in a wooded area behind the Meuser Park band shell in the borough.

* Body found: The body of a 4-year-old autistic boy reported missing Monday afternoon was pulled from the Delaware River Tuesday about two miles south of his Knowlton Township, N.J., home. State police at Hope said Michael Alfonso's body was caught in a tree about five feet from shore on the New Jersey side of the river.

* Death warrants: A state court ordered Gov. Robert P. Casey to sign death warrants for two Northampton County killers, Martin Appel and Josoph Henry, within 30 days and 60 days respectively. In a precedent-setting ruling, Commonwealth Court said the governor has delayed review of the two capital punishment cases too long.

* BETHLEHEM AREA

* Rinker guilty: Charles Rinker is guilty of third-degree murder in the Jan. 10, 1993, shooting of Bethlehem bar owner Carlos Gonzalez, a Northampton County judge has ruled. Rinker, 20, who had lived in Allentown, did not appear surprised by the verdict, delivered in a three-minute proceeding.

* Interim chief named: WLVT hired a retired business executive to run the Bethlehem-based public television station until a permanent replacement for former President and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon P. Siegel can be found. Robert T. Weed, 63, of Bethlehem, pledged to be open with the board of directors, station staff and the public during his tenure as interim general manager for the station.

* Incumbent ousted: Steelworkers in the largest union local at Bethlehem Steel's home plant voted out their first-term president to make way for a grievance committeeman said to be more aggressive. Dan Mills topped Local 2599 incumbent President Donald Trexler 597-494, ending a campaign both camps characterized as the worst in their local's recent history.

* BUCKS, MONTGOMERY, BERKS

* Fire damages school: Kriebel Hall, the original building of the prestigious Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, was heavily damaged in a 12-alarm fire. There were no injuries. The structure serves as the administration offices and a dormitory. The fire started when a shower exhaust fan shorted out on the third floor of the dormitory.

* Death sentence upheld: The state Supreme Court upheld the death sentence and first-degree murder conviction of a former Bucks County man accused of robbing and shooting an Ohio trucker more than 10 years ago. In a unanimous decision, the justices found there was "overwhelming" evidence of Kenneth J. Williams' guilt, and they dismissed his numerous arguments for a new trial as meritless. In October 1983, the body of Edward Miller, 22, was found in his sealed trailer in a truck stop in Kuhnsville.

* CARBON, SCHUYLKILL, MONROE

* Leininger brothers arrested: After two days of hiding in the woods and staking out the house, authorities took Mahoning Township farmer brothers George and Bernard Leininger into custody to finish their prison term for assaulting state troopers. Authorities waited until the brothers were away from their home -- and guns -- before making their move.